Looking back on it, the old Universal Electricity mods were ahead of their time, too bad I didnt appreciate what they were trying to do then. A batch of mods DESIGNED to be played together, with a clearly defined end goal (build a rocketship). Where each mod represented its own place in the progression tree. Nobody seemed afraid to admit their mod was just part of a greater whole. Or maybe they did and thats why UE broke up the band, each of the guys just wanted more credit. Maybe it was just boring for some of them to maintain a mod that only did item transport. I dunno.
What I am saying is that if modders could get on the same page and figure out where their place is in the tech tree and agree on some standards, then the modded minecraft tech tree could finally solidify into something fair in terms of time and resources invested.